The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should hit Volkswagen with the maximum possible fine of $ 18 billion for lying to consumers about nitrogen oxide emissions from thousands of its vehicles, Sen. Chuck Schumer said Sunday.

“The company carjacked the trust of hundreds of thousands of consumers and knew it all along,” said Schumer, who was joined by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “These … consumers and the United States taxpayers deserve to be made whole again.”

The top fine would result in approximately $ 37,500 per offending car, Schumer said. The German car company should also fully reimburse the government millions in tax credits it deceitfully received, the New York Democrat said.

AXEL SCHMIDT/REUTERS

General view of the Volkswagen power plant in Wolfsburg, Germany September 22, 2015.

“The U.S. must send a dramatic and strong message across industries that these actions will never be tolerated again – and more importantly that the U.S. government is paying attention,” Schumer said.

The IRS provided the Volkswagen with approximately $ 50 million in tax incentive credits, according to reports.

Patrick Pleul/EPA

A probe of a device used for Diesel engine emission tests has been attached to an exhaust pipe of a VW Golf 2.0 TDI car in a repair shop in Frankfurt/Oder, Germany, September 21, 2015.

In September, the EPA concluded that Volkswagen had been in violation of the Clean Air Act, which obliges car makers certify that their vehicles meet federal emission standards to control pollution.

The German carmaker installed “defeat devices” that tricked emission testers into believing the cars were more energy efficient. The cunning software was able to detect when a car was being tested. But during normal driving, the cars would emit oxides 10 to 40 times the standard